In Blackwater Woods
Look,
the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
of
light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
the
long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders
of
the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
nameless
now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned
Every year
everything
I have ever learned
in
my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
is
salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world
you
must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against
your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.
~
Mary Oliver
(American
Primitive)
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